How To Use Frisket Film

Frisket film is a material normally used in various artworks to cover areas of a picture or painting that you don’t want to touch while you apply the medium or color to the painting. This is what artists that do acrylic painting, airbrushing, and watercolor illustrations use to successfully mask areas that they don’t want to color during a particular coloring process. Frisket film is used for other artwork procedures such as stamping and screening. This material is usually packaged in different types such as easy peel, hot press, and cold press. The easy peel type is what most artists go for since it is easy to use. However, for artwork on smooth or rough surfaces, the hot or cold press frisket film is what will be needed. If you are a novice artist using frisket film for the first time, then here some simple steps on how to apply it to your artwork.

Purchase frisket film. Frisket film is usually sold in sheets. Visit your local art supply store and purchase a nice sheet. You may opt for the film packages, which feature multiple sheets as well. Make sure that you are buying the right type of frisket film, which will be dependent on the type of surface your artwork is on. For this example, let’s assume that you are working on a traditional canvas so purchase a pack of easy peel frisket film.

Apply the frisket film. As soon as you get home, you can start working with your artwork. Start off by cutting out a sheet of frisket film found in the pack you just purchase. You will need a special kind of knife for this process. A no. 11 X-ACTO knife is the perfect tool to prepare and cut the frisket film you will be using. Cut the film similar to the dimensions of the area you plan to cover. You don’t really need to cut it the same way. Cutting it squarely around the same size of the illustration will suffice. Peel the film and gently apply it to the area you want to cover. Don’t worry about the excess film since you can cut this out later on. Press on the film on the area you covered to ensure that it adheres to the surface.

Cut the excess film. Once the film has adhered to the area of the artwork, use the same knife to cut out the excess film. Follow the artwork in this process since you want the cuts exactly right. Be careful not to cut through the artwork. Limit the cut to the film only. Once you complete the cuts, remove the excess film.

Start coloring. Once everything is satisfactorily covered, start applying the colored medium to the rest of the illustration. Allow the artwork to completely dry before removing the frisket film.

To remove the film, you will need to use the knife to assist the lifting of the film from its edges. Once the film has been removed, you may notice that the residue from the adhesive may still be in the area. To remove this, apply rubber cement remover to the area.